Insider Report - September 15th
With the start of a new football season, GamecockCentral.com is happy to announce a new feature: The Insider Report. Check back each weekday during the season for a new edition.
For continuity reasons, if you have question regarding this report, please use today’s “Ask Tony" thread on The Insiders Forum.
Grading Five Keys To Victory
Positive yardage on first down - It was an ugly start on first down for Carolina, as they averaged zero yards per play on first down in the first quarter. Not so coincidentally, their offense struggled as a whole in that quarter. From that point on, their performance on first down improved and their overall play on that side of the ball did, too, as a result. Grade ? B-
Contain Moreno - Carolina’s defense did an admirable job against one of the nation’s top running backs, limiting him to 79 yards on 20 carries. His long run on the day was 11 yards. They contained him plenty well enough to give them the chance to win the game. Grade ? B+
Protect the football - The Gamecock offense did a solid job of protecting the football, losing one fumble and throwing one interception on the last play of the game. Defensively, they missed multiple opportunities to create turnovers. Grade ? C+
Manufacture points any way possible - Carolina’s inability to manufacture points event though had several opportunities was obviously the biggest reason they lost this game. Grade ? D
Better play up front - Carolina’s offensive line turned in a strong performance in pass protection, but did very little in terms of run blocking. Their defensive front did a nice job of helping bottle up Moreno and pressure Matthew Stafford, who rarely had time to setup in the pocket and scan the field for an open receiver. Grade ? B
Recruiting tidbits
Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe four-star athlete Stephon Gilmore did not make it to the game as planned. He’ll attend multiple Carolina games later this season.
Three other players who did not attend were Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb three-star defensive lineman Derrick Lott, and Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes 2010 defensive linemen Corey Miller and Brandon Willis. Carolina is still a big factor with Lott, but I don’t get the impression Miller nor Willis is particularly interested in the Gamecocks at this early stage.
Byrnes star running back Marcus Lattimore did make it to the game and had a great time. He picked up an offer from LSU late last week, a team he’s always had a lot of interest in, but I still believe Carolina is in a good position with him.
I’ve heard very positive returns regarding Greenwood (S.C.) four-star defensive end Sam Montgomery’s visit. He arrived early and stayed late and reportedly had a great visit.
Game Observations
After a poor start, I thought Chris Smelley rebounded to play one of the best games of his career against a very athletic Georgia defense. He was comfortable in the pocket, did a good job of looking defenders off and made good decisions. He should be able to build on this performance heading into this weekend.
Wide receiver Moe Brown had by far the best game of his career, grabbing seven balls for 130 yards and a touchdown. As well as he played, he still doesn’t always find the football as quickly as he needs to and missed a couple of other opportunities for big plays as a result.
Carolina’s offensive line had one of their best games in recent memory in terms of protecting the passer, but they did little in opening holes for the running backs.
I thought they should have used Weslye Saunders more than they did.
Defensively, I thought they played great overall. Sure there were plays here and there where they could have performed better, but they played about as well as could be expected against a team like Georgia.
Jasper Brinkley came to life and stood out to me. Guys like Ladi Ajiboye, Nathan Pepper, Clifton Geathers, Cliff Matthews, Eric Norwood and Emanuel Cook also stood out to me.
Obviously the story of this game was Carolina’s inability to put points on the board in the second half despite moving into Georgia territory on all five possessions. While there are no moral victories in college football, I do think there were a lot of encouraging signs in this game.
If you have any news or tips you'd like to share, please send an email to recruiting@gamecockcentral.com
This post was edited on 9/15 1:24 PM by Tony Morrell
This post was edited on 9/16 4:29 PM by Brian Shoemaker
With the start of a new football season, GamecockCentral.com is happy to announce a new feature: The Insider Report. Check back each weekday during the season for a new edition.
For continuity reasons, if you have question regarding this report, please use today’s “Ask Tony" thread on The Insiders Forum.
Grading Five Keys To Victory
Positive yardage on first down - It was an ugly start on first down for Carolina, as they averaged zero yards per play on first down in the first quarter. Not so coincidentally, their offense struggled as a whole in that quarter. From that point on, their performance on first down improved and their overall play on that side of the ball did, too, as a result. Grade ? B-
Contain Moreno - Carolina’s defense did an admirable job against one of the nation’s top running backs, limiting him to 79 yards on 20 carries. His long run on the day was 11 yards. They contained him plenty well enough to give them the chance to win the game. Grade ? B+
Protect the football - The Gamecock offense did a solid job of protecting the football, losing one fumble and throwing one interception on the last play of the game. Defensively, they missed multiple opportunities to create turnovers. Grade ? C+
Manufacture points any way possible - Carolina’s inability to manufacture points event though had several opportunities was obviously the biggest reason they lost this game. Grade ? D
Better play up front - Carolina’s offensive line turned in a strong performance in pass protection, but did very little in terms of run blocking. Their defensive front did a nice job of helping bottle up Moreno and pressure Matthew Stafford, who rarely had time to setup in the pocket and scan the field for an open receiver. Grade ? B
Recruiting tidbits
Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe four-star athlete Stephon Gilmore did not make it to the game as planned. He’ll attend multiple Carolina games later this season.
Three other players who did not attend were Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb three-star defensive lineman Derrick Lott, and Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes 2010 defensive linemen Corey Miller and Brandon Willis. Carolina is still a big factor with Lott, but I don’t get the impression Miller nor Willis is particularly interested in the Gamecocks at this early stage.
Byrnes star running back Marcus Lattimore did make it to the game and had a great time. He picked up an offer from LSU late last week, a team he’s always had a lot of interest in, but I still believe Carolina is in a good position with him.
I’ve heard very positive returns regarding Greenwood (S.C.) four-star defensive end Sam Montgomery’s visit. He arrived early and stayed late and reportedly had a great visit.
Game Observations
After a poor start, I thought Chris Smelley rebounded to play one of the best games of his career against a very athletic Georgia defense. He was comfortable in the pocket, did a good job of looking defenders off and made good decisions. He should be able to build on this performance heading into this weekend.
Wide receiver Moe Brown had by far the best game of his career, grabbing seven balls for 130 yards and a touchdown. As well as he played, he still doesn’t always find the football as quickly as he needs to and missed a couple of other opportunities for big plays as a result.
Carolina’s offensive line had one of their best games in recent memory in terms of protecting the passer, but they did little in opening holes for the running backs.
I thought they should have used Weslye Saunders more than they did.
Defensively, I thought they played great overall. Sure there were plays here and there where they could have performed better, but they played about as well as could be expected against a team like Georgia.
Jasper Brinkley came to life and stood out to me. Guys like Ladi Ajiboye, Nathan Pepper, Clifton Geathers, Cliff Matthews, Eric Norwood and Emanuel Cook also stood out to me.
Obviously the story of this game was Carolina’s inability to put points on the board in the second half despite moving into Georgia territory on all five possessions. While there are no moral victories in college football, I do think there were a lot of encouraging signs in this game.
If you have any news or tips you'd like to share, please send an email to recruiting@gamecockcentral.com
This post was edited on 9/15 1:24 PM by Tony Morrell
This post was edited on 9/16 4:29 PM by Brian Shoemaker
